THUNDER BAY –Traffic will be forced to detour around High Street for the next five months as the rebuild of the retaining wall officially began Wednesday.
High Street will now be closed between John and Bay streets with a detour at Red River Road.
Council voted on June 5 to award the $2.1 million contract to Manshield Contracting, completing the final step for the project to proceed.
Engineers have raised concerns about the safety of the wall since 2008. The replacement of the wall was originally proposed in the 2016 budget, but it was delayed to this year.
The rebuild will also include a new set of stairs, accessible ramp, improving drainage behind the wall and converting the part of Cornwall Avenue at the top to a one-way street.
The project generated significant public debate, with a number of community members vocal in their desire to see the original rubble wall repaired and rehabilitated. Council in March voted to go ahead with a new concrete structure with pre-cast panel facing.
Coun. Larry Hebert suggested the city look at preserving some of the stone from the original wall and using it to establish a monument at Hillcrest Park.
“There has been some discussion around ideas that administration could look at for saving some of these stones and what we could do with them,” city director of engineering and operations Kayla Dixon responded.
The work is expected to be completed by the end of October.
